Lloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chiefof Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher.Shelter Publications specializes in books on buildingand architecture,as well as health and fitness.Lloyds latest book is Small Homes: The Right Size.For more info, see: www.shelterpub.comLloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher. Shelter Publications specializes in books on building and architecture, as well as health and fitness. Lloyd’s latest book is Small Homes: The Right Size.For more info, see: www.shelterpub.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lloydkahn

I just wanted to let you know that Rocky Mountain PBS premiers the Lost Sea Expedition series January 4th. The series will also stream on Amazon and Vimeo. The story about this tiny wagon voyage across America featured in Tiny Homes(pp. 188–189). I think this info would really interesttheshelterblog.comreaders.

Big waves at beach yesterday, negative ion perfume in air. Gathered these bull kelp blades, which I dry, grind up, and sprinkle on omelette, meat, fish, potatoes, salads—just about anything. Homemade vitamin supplement, high in protein and minerals. I pickle the bull kelp bulbs. About to leave now for clamming and mussels. I have a 12' Klamath aluminum boat, with 15 HP 2-stroke vintage Evinrude outboard motor, which I'm working the kinks out of.

Hi Lloyd,I ran into Randy in Folsom, CA. I figured for sure he’d heard of Shelter and Tiny Homes on The Move, but he had not. Randy’s in his late 50’s and found himself in the middle of a late in life divorce and didn’t want tot have to work to own a house. He’s a metal worker by trade and modified an old utility trailer with the camper shell from his old Dodge pick up into his new home. It’s pretty cool. I shared with him your website information too.Dan Varvais

Lesley’s been gardening on our piece of Northern California coastal land for over 40 years. For vegetables, she’s come to rely on the bookGolden Gate Gardeningby Pam Pierce.

• Foggy climate charts

• What to plant when

• Encourages year-round vegetable growing.

• For the the San Francisco Bay Area and coastal California.

Over the years, we’ve given copies to our boys, as well as friends who are starting out to grow vegetables in the area.

Below: garden at its most barren right now. New hoop greenhouse from Farmtek, a great source of greenhouse supplies and all kinds of agricultural products. We just added walls, 2 concrete blocks high, to get more height. Doors by Billy Cummings. Foreground: raised beds of redwood 2x12's, 1/4" wire on bottom for gophers. Lightweight lift-off covers with netting to protect strawberries from birds

I'd like to get this out to as many people as possible. Please send it to anyone you think might appreciate it.

-LK

Poster from 1885, designed to encourage people to move westwardI would like to offer some suggestions to people whose homes were destroyed by the California fires of 2017. I have built three homes of my own and, as well, been publishing books on building for some 45 years now. From this experience I’ve come to some conclusions about practical, sensible building.

Much of the emphasis in our books has been on owner-building, and if you will be doing design and construction yourself, these are things for you to consider. If not, these are ideas you can discuss with architects and/or builders you may be working with — the principles are the same.

Much has been learned about building homes in the last two or three decades. You may be able to take advantage of building materials and techniques that weren’t available when these homes were built. Here is a chance to do things better, to learn from experience, to create a home built from sustainable materials that will save energy, that will be better for you and the planet.

Please note: These are just random ideas for your consideration. This isn't a check list, where you try to incorporate each suggestion in your plans. The purpose here is to stimulate thinking. Maybe you’ll find two or three ideas that will work for you.

Lesley is having an open studio of her weaving (scarves, shawls, hats), quilts, and hand-spun wool over Thanksgiving weekend across the road from our home at 285 Dogwood Road. Info on all 19 Bolinas artists: www.coastalmarinartists.com. A couple of blocks down the road (165 Alder) is painter Dieter Tremp's studio.

On the road again
Heard about a 2-story driftwood shack at Navarro beach, road to beach closed because Navarro River has not broken thru to ocean, making big flooded Estero. Tried to walk thru yesterday afternoon, but water soon up over knees, so had to settle for this long shot. I’m heading south today to another long sandy beach with a bunch of shacks. Glad I got this iPhone 8 plus, way improved camera. BUT am so pissed off I forgot to bring my grown-up camera (Olympus OM-D) with telephoto lens. Damn! Still, you get the idea. Watch for my new book, Driftwood Shacks: Anonymous Architecture Along the California Coast. As a result of this trip, the book has grown by at least a dozen pages. This is the first in a field of small print-on-demand books we're going to try. I have a ton of things that I'd like to make small books out of. Barns, motorcycles, New York City, L.A., Baja California Sur…
Meanwhile, finishing 2nd draft of my book on the '60s, present working title: "Something's Happening…
Haven't got subtitle, maybe "My Life and the '60s"

I took off from home about noon yesterday, on my way north on Hwy One to Pt. Arena to hang out with with my pal Louie in Pt. Arena and environs.

I'm in midst of publishing 64-pg. book, “Driftwood Shacks,” and about halfway up the coast, spotted a nicely symmetrical tipi-shaped beach shack from a cliff. Whoa! Totally timely. I climbed down the cliff and discovered a strung-out village of maybe 15 beach shacks over a mile and a half, perfect day after rains, good surf, jogging along beach, gulls, turkey buzzards soaring, beach vibes rich in chi.

I think my book just grew another dozen pages. Will be out before year's end. Digital printing by Ingram’s Lightning Source. Color, 8 by 8”, probably $20. This is a shot of my computer screen this morning.

Photo by our friend, French carpenter yogan, of The Church of Colònia Güell, an unfinished work by Antoni Gaudí. It was built as a place of worship for the people in a manufacturing suburb in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, near Barcelona.

See yogan's blog for many more photos of Gaudi's work, as well as of other unique buildings in different parts of the world:

"…The wildness is a deception. Scattered in nearly every vista of Mongolia are the round white tents of nomads. We know these tent houses as yurts; they call themger(pronouncedgair). They are the primary home to about 1 million nomads. Today’s nomads retain a lifestyle relatively unchanged from that of their forebears in important ways. Living as I do—in a world teeming with smartphones and Wi-Fi, smart TVs and self-driving cars—it is a remarkable thing to travel among them.

The nomads are herders and typically own about 1,000 animals—mostly sheep and goats, but cows, horses, dogs, camels, and yaks as well. You could think of them as ranchers who move their ranch seasonally. They set up their ger in spring for maximum summer pastures, then they move it again for winter feeding. This movement is not north to south as might be expected, but from lowlands to highlands, or even from open valley in summer to hidden hilly nook in winter to escape the wind, which is more punishing than the cold.…"

Paulette Goddard, Charlie's beautiful waif girlfriend has found them a house. "It's not Buckingham Palace," she says. Charlie walks in and a beam falls on his head.

One of the funniest movies of all time. It's a silent film, but made when sound was available. Charlie apparently felt that the Little Tramp wouldn't work with sound, so this is silent. In the end the Little Tramp and Paulette walk off into the sunset, and this was the end of this character.